Tremendous System followers had been handled to their greatest title battle in years after some one-sided contests in 2021 and ’22, and whereas SUPER GT had a extra turbulent 12 months full of purple flags and incidents, the collection nonetheless produced a championship battle that went all the way down to the wire. This 12 months’s High 10 options six of final 12 months’s listing, plus two newcomers and one other two getting back from earlier years. Learn on to see who makes the grade.
Honourable mentions
In each Tremendous System and SUPER GT, Toshiki Oyu was entertaining and irritating to look at in equal measure. There’s no doubting his uncooked velocity, as evidenced by two pole positions for the reborn TGM staff in Tremendous System and a few eye-catching drives on the wheel of the #8 ARTA Honda in SUPER GT. However there have been far too many events on which his complete weekend can be ruined by a useless error – his virtually unforgivable observe foul-up at Autopolis was what in the end value him a spot on this prime 10 listing.
Elsewhere at Honda, B-Max driver Nobuharu Matsushita reminded everybody of his high quality when he had a brand new chassis for the ultimate Tremendous System spherical at Suzuka. Mixed with some sturdy showings within the Actual Racing NSX-GT, it leaves you questioning why he has no seat in Tremendous System 2024. Then again, Hiroki Otsu entered the body for a reprieve on the energy of some strong stand-in appearances and a principally spectacular season partnering Nirei Fukuzumi within the #16 ARTA automobile.
Mitsunori Takaboshi made an plain step ahead in his second season on Michelin tyres as a part of the NDDP Nissan squad, his error within the closing levels of the Motegi season finale however. Impul man Bertrand Baguette spent the 12 months annoyed together with his staff’s lack of qualifying type however was typically on the transfer within the opening stints, and deserves credit score for laying the foundations for some spectacular restoration drivers from poor grid slots.
Lastly, Toyota’s Kenta Yamashita continues to point out hints of his potential however in the end had an unfulfiling season in each Tremendous System and SUPER GT. Armed with Sacha Fenestraz’s previous engineer and chassis at Kondo Racing, ‘Yamaken’ was by no means capable of replicate the shape within the Fuji opener that noticed him declare an emotional first podium in three years, whereas his third season with Kazuya Oshima at Rookie Racing was equally anticlimactic regardless of some sturdy stints.
10. 
 Kakunoshin Ota (new entry)
seventh in Tremendous System / 14th in SUPER GT (with Takuya Izawa)
At first, it appeared like Tremendous System Lights graduate Ota was destined to have a rookie season to overlook as he changed Hiroki Otsu at Dandelion Racing. 5 races into the season and he hadn’t scored a degree, not helped by lacking the only pre-season check attributable to an harm picked up in SUPER GT testing. However after the in-season check at Fuji, he seemed like a distinct man, by no means qualifying out of the highest 4 thereafter.
The season culminated in a memorable first win at Suzuka, making him solely the fourth totally different driver to face on the highest step of the rostrum in 2023 and ending a two-year winless run for Dandelion. What was much more exceptional was that win got here within the much less favoured #6 automobile, which earlier than Ota’s triumph hadn’t claimed a single win within the SF19/23 period.
In SUPER GT, Ota made a giant impression together with his suggestions and his brilliant character whilst Nakajima Racing struggled for many of the season utilizing Dunlop tyres. The one event that the #64 automobile was able to compete, Ota made essentially the most of it, delivering a fourth-place end that become second after post-race penalties had been handed to 2 different Honda runners. A possible promotion to Actual Racing for 2024 is at least he deserves.
9. 
 Ronnie Quintarelli (re-entry)
third in SUPER GT (with Tsugio Matsuda)
Regardless of turning 44 in June, Quintarelli exhibits few indicators of slowing down. This was most likely the Italian four-time GT500 champion’s greatest marketing campaign since not less than 2020, with the rising pains he and Tsugio Matsuda skilled throughout the first season of the Z final 12 months seemingly expunged with a assured win in a rain-soaked Okayama opener.
Matsuda’s crash at Suzuka in hindsight most likely put paid to any practical title ambitions, costing them factors not solely in that race but in addition the next spherical at Fuji, the place a penalty for a chassis change (plus points getting stated chassis totally sorted) left them out of the highest 10. The #23 NISMO pair had been additionally unfortunate to be caught out by a brand new, apparently stricter skid block checking process at Suzuka, the place they completed second and will have been a lot nearer to the win and not using a fortunately-timed FCY for the #16 ARTA Honda.
In the long run, Quintarelli and Matsuda arguably ought to have been the higher-placed of the 2 NISMO pairings within the standings, however needed to be content material with third. There’s little doubt that Quintarelli, regardless of being the identical age as his team-mate, is the extra constant of SUPER GT’s ‘golden couple’ – however the query now could be how effectively he can modify to Bridgestone tyres in 2024 after greater than a decade on Michelins.
8. Â Tadasuke Makino (no change)
sixth in Tremendous System / tenth in SUPER GT
Now 5 seasons into his Tremendous System profession, Makino has cemented his popularity as certainly one of Honda’s prime performers, and but that first win continues to elude him. The Dandelion man seemed like he is likely to be on the cusp of a breakthrough success at Fuji in July after scoring pole, solely to be defeated in a straight struggle in opposition to Liam Lawson come race day.Â
The massive crash triggered by the Kiwi at Motegi ensured Makino wouldn’t get one other honest crack of the whip, together with his new chassis at Suzuka affected by a mysterious bouncing downside. It’s by way of this prism that his last championship place of sixth needs to be considered; with out it, he may effectively have been fourth, albeit a manner again from the ‘large three’. That’s all the way down to Dandelion’s struggles within the early a part of the season with the SF23, however Makino earned plaudits from staff boss Kiyoshi Muraoka for his position within the Kyoto squad’s turnaround.
In SUPER GT, Naoki Yamamoto’s crash at Sugo thrust Makino into the position of staff chief on the Kunimitsu Honda squad. Whereas the staff’s title problem couldn’t survive such a mortal blow, Makino impressively maintained his 100% report of constructing it out of Q1 and confirmed he has the potential to be one of many model’s ‘A’ drivers within the close to future.
7. Â Ryo Hirakawa (down 3)
fifth in Tremendous System
In some methods, 2023 was most likely the 12 months of Hirakawa’s profession up to now, as he defended his World Endurance Championship title from 2022 and fulfilled his lifelong dream of driving a System 1 automobile after his shock appointment as McLaren reserve driver. However so far as his actions in Japan (nowadays restricted to only Tremendous System) went, it was one other season of disappointment, as Workforce Impul struggled greater than most to get on prime of the up to date SF23 automobile.
As was the case with the previous SF19, qualifying remained the large situation, however in race trim Hirakawa was typically up there with the perfect. His drive from twentieth to fourth in the summertime Fuji race has to rank as maybe the drive of the season, and he was unfortunate to not problem for a win within the following race at Motegi after being delayed by an over-optimistic lunge by previous title rival Naoki Yamamoto. He completely obliterated team-mate Yuhi Sekiguchi, whose Tremendous System profession appears prefer it received’t survive his failure to attain factors all 12 months.Â
Hirakawa in the meantime steps away voluntarily from Tremendous System with a view to concentrate on his WEC and F1 duties in 2024. One can solely hope the 29-year-old comes again to the collection in future to problem for the title his expertise so deserves, having effectively and actually established himself as certainly one of Japan’s premier skills of current years.
6. Â Nirei Fukuzumi (re-entry)
sixteenth in Tremendous System / 4th in SUPER GT (with Hiroki Otsu)
After three seasons within the shadow of Tomoki Nojiri at ARTA, Fukuzumi was promoted to ‘A’ driver standing upon the staff’s growth to a second automobile, and he actually made the many of the likelihood to shine. Two pole positions, together with one taken when the #16 automobile was the third-heaviest within the area, had been a reminder of the velocity that after made Fukuzumi a real F1 prospect, and with out some early-season penalties he and Hiroki Otsu would have been a lot nearer to the title.
Whereas on paper his second season on the rebranded ThreeBond squad in Tremendous System wasn’t an enormous enchancment on his first, Fukuzumi was not less than a daily customer to Q2, failing to make the pole shootout solely twice all season, and 4 factors finishes was a brand new high-water mark for a one-car staff that failed to attain in any respect in 2020 and ’21, even when the low season modifications to what was referred to as Drago Corse amounted to little greater than window dressing.
Fukuzumi appears set to maneuver throughout to Toyota subsequent season in what has to rank as one of many greatest driver market shocks of current years. Precisely the place he suits into Toyota’s reshuffled Tremendous System roster stays to be seen, however in SUPER GT it appears he can sit up for sharing a automobile with Kazuya Oshima at Rookie Racing.
5. Â Tomoki Nojiri (down 4)
third in Tremendous System / eighth in SUPER GT (with Toshiki Oyu)
It took the introduction of a brand new (or not less than, new-ish) automobile to lastly knock Nojiri, the dominant champion of the final two years, off his perch in 2023. The shift in the direction of oversteer with the brand new SF23 in contrast with the previous SF19 was one thing the 34-year-old clearly discovered laborious to grasp, notably whereas sharing a expertise with an outstanding expertise like Lawson who did not must ‘unlearn’ the earlier era machine.
And but, regardless of that, Nojiri nonetheless received three races, another than he managed in 2022, and got here up solely 8.5 factors shy of changing into the primary man to earn three titles in a row since Satoru Nakajima in 1986. That was a robust restoration contemplating the very fact he scored zero factors on two events, one self-inflicted together with his collision with Oyu at Suzuka, and the opposite when a collapsed lung prevented him from collaborating at Autopolis, the place team-mate Lawson received.
Nojiri might need featured somewhat greater up this listing if it wasn’t for an additional 12 months to overlook in SUPER GT, for which he should shoulder not less than a few of the blame. Clearly he and Oyu did not gel as a duo in fairly the best way he and the ARTA staff, now operated by Mugen, would have hoped. The excellent news is that the arrival of the brand new Civic, during which Nojiri has led growth with Naoki Yamamoto sidelined by harm, guarantees the possibility of a much-needed reset.
4. Â Katsumasa Chiyo (up 1)
2nd in SUPER GT (with Mitsunori Takaboshi)
As he and Mitsunori Takaboshi fell agonisingly wanting the SUPER GT title for a second 12 months in a row within the Motegi finale, it was laborious to not really feel sorry for Chiyo, who continued to excel in his position because the lead driver within the NDDP Racing Nissan Z. Trying again now, Nissan’s choice to drop him for 2019 appears weird, though a 12 months on the sidelines actually did not do his profession any hurt in the long term.
It may be laborious to benchmark the drivers on Michelin tyres, just because there are so few of them, however Chiyo was once more most of the time the quickest man on the French rubber. A few of his qualifying performances had been exceptional: fourth at Fuji when the #3 automobile was carrying a gas circulation restrictor, and third at Autopolis in comparable circumstances. And at Motegi, lastly freed from handicaps however with the stress of the title on the road, he waltzed away from the sector from pole. Â
Nissan’s recommendations of a GT500 shake-up for 2024 increase the intriguing prospect of Chiyo having a brand new team-mate subsequent season. Whether or not he will get a promotion to the flagship #23 NISMO automobile (the place he would presumably accomplice Ronnie Quintarelli) or a brand new face joins him within the #3 machine, you might be positive Chiyo will stay a characteristic of the Nissan set-up for a few years to come back.
3. Â Sho Tsuboi (up 6)
4th in Tremendous System / 1st in SUPER GT (with Ritomo Miyata)
After two years within the doldrums with Inging, 2023 marked a welcome return to type in Tremendous System for Tsuboi, who has lengthy been considered as one of the crucial thrilling skills within the Toyota secure however with out the silverware to point out for it. With the brand new SF23 serving to to treatment the staff’s earlier power understeer points, Tsuboi bagged three podiums from the opening 4 races and it seemed like he is likely to be the third man within the title struggle together with Ritomo Miyata and Liam Lawson.
And but, when Tremendous System returned to Fuji in the summertime, a number of groups made important step forwards and Inging went backwards. Issues improved considerably for the Suzuka finale, however by then it was too little, too late so far as the title was involved, and Tsuboi needed to be content material with beating Ryo Hirakawa by a single level to unofficial ‘better of the remainder’ honours in fourth general.
It was on the wheel of a SUPER GT automobile that Tsuboi actually shone, nevertheless, as he scored a second title in three years. After doing the lion’s share of the work on the wheel of the #36 TOM’S automobile for he and Miyata’s first win of the season, his Q2 effort subsequent day out at Suzuka with 40kg of ballast on board was nothing wanting exceptional, and had the race gone the complete distance it isn’t inconceivable that he and Miyata may have ended up successful 4 out of eight races. A very nice season.
2. 
 Liam Lawson (new entry)
2nd in Tremendous System
With the good thing about hindsight, it is easy to say now that every one the substances had been in place for Lawson to right away problem for the Tremendous System title. Clearly, a prodigious expertise, obscured by the vagaries of System 2 politics, was there. He was driving for Workforce Mugen, the category of the sector in 2021 and ’22, however within the first 12 months of the brand new SF23 package deal, that concurrently strengthened the squad’s place in the beginning of the 12 months whereas knocking two-time champion Nojiri off his stride.
However that is not the way it felt on the time to the New Zealander, who says he solely realised that he is likely to be on to one thing good when he did his first run in qualifying at Fuji in April, obtained again to the pit field and noticed that his identify wasn’t plummeting down the timing screens. Maybe discarding the second race of that double-header, Lawson just about had the potential to win in each race after that, even when a mix of small errors and plain previous unhealthy luck swung the title away from him.
In the long run although, Lawson’s future was by no means more likely to be affected by whether or not he truly received the title, and he arrived at Suzuka having already recognized for a while that AlphaTauri wouldn’t have a full-time seat for him in 2024. However his presence helped to shine a much-needed highlight on his rivals, most notably F2-bound Miyata, and has set a really excessive bar for his now-confirmed successor at Workforce Mugen, Ayumu Iwasa, in addition to his former rival Theo Pourchaire in 2024.
1. Â Ritomo Miyata (up 5)
1st in Tremendous System / 1st in SUPER GT (with Sho Tsuboi)
One of many pitfalls of this format is pretty judging drivers who solely contest one or different of the 2 main championships. If this listing was based mostly on Tremendous System alone, there can be a really persuasive argument for placing Lawson forward of Miyata. However, drivers that contest each collection are all the time more likely to have a small edge, as they’ve twice as many possibilities over the 12 months to place themselves within the highlight. And boy did Miyata try this this season.
From the second he stood on the highest step of the rostrum at Suzuka to assert his first Tremendous System win, Miyata appeared to have the ability to completely entry the next stage of efficiency than we might seen hitherto. That was clearly on show at Sugo, the place he blitzed the sector (albeit solely after getting away with a yellow flag infringement that might have simply put him to the again of the grid), and he may have simply been celebrating a hat-trick of wins had his TOM’S crew not made a uncommon pit technique error within the earlier race at Autopolis.
Talking of the Kyushu observe, it was the penultimate spherical of the SUPER GT season at that venue the place Miyata shone the brightest. His last stint was merely spellbinding as he took the #36 TOM’S Supra, with its 49kg of success ballast, to locations the place it had no actual proper to be. Whereas the staff was on prime of its recreation after a disastrous opening spherical at Okayama, that Autopolis race left observers in little doubt that it was the person behind the wheel making the distinction.
Click on the hyperlinks to revisit the lists from 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019.
